Thursday, October 08, 2009

It could only have come from my congressman. Pete Olson, the duly elected congressman representing Texas CD-22, a redneck’s redneck, has filed a House Resolution honoring the “journalism” of Hannah Giles and James O’Keefe III, who ran a “stunt” at a couple of ACORN offices.

Ran a stunt and called it journalism.

Pete’s resolution, House Resolution 809, goes on that these people were doing credible journalism that is “setting an example for concerned citizens across America.”

In case you have been on an Antarctic cruise the past few weeks, you probably missed the fact that a couple of amateurs posed as various low-life people, one time, as I recall, as a pimp and his prostitute, and came into a neighborhood ACORN community service center asking for help.

To their eternal shame, the ACORN workers tried their best to help them, but in so doing, suggested that the actors stretch a few truths.

Now the fact is, this was not an infraction of the law in any way. These people, Hannah Giles and James O’Keefe III, were actors who were secretly videoing the entire encounter so they could use it against ACORN – not to mention make themselves Pete Olson’s personal heroes.

No one in the field of journalism (except for Fox News) thinks that this was credible journalism. It was a set-up pure and simple. A set-up like the county fair stunt where someone glues a wallet with folding money showing out on the midway and in a grandstand that is set back fair goers sit and watch the misbehavior of their fellow man as they encounter the wallet and then make poor decisions on how to recover the money for themselves.

Given a sordid set of circumstances, people tend to act sordidly, unfortunately.

This was not journalism in any way, shape or form, and Pete Olson should be ashamed for singling out this pair of actors as journalists doing laudable reporting.

I used to give Pete Olson credit for having at least some brains, or he wouldn’t have been able to fool so many people into voting for him. Now I am convinced the man couldn’t think his way out of a 3rd grade spelling bee.

Yesterday the bill was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform where I suspect it will die a cold and lonely death.